The present invention relates generally to the embossing of sheet material, and deals more particularly with a method for making embossed packages and other articles from sheet-type work materials, as well as with the articles themselves, embossed blanks for making the articles, and the sheet materials used to make the embossed blanks.
The present invention has particular utility in the making of embossed sample packaging from sheet-type work materials and is described herein as applied to such use. It also, however, can be used in the making of many other kinds of embossed articles such as the free-standing three-dimensional special menus often found on restaurant tables.
Therefore as used herein, the term xe2x80x9cpackagexe2x80x9d should be broadly construed to mean sample packaging from sheet-type work materials as well as other kinds of three dimensional articles.
Prior to releasing a new product to the marketplace, companies typically evaluate the functional aspects and aesthetic appeal of the new product""s packaging. To facilitate this evaluation, prototypical packages referred to as comprehensives are created embodying in detail the package design concepts.
A difficulty associated with known techniques for making sample packages is due in part to the fact that the graphics and special effects employed by companies on their product packaging have risen to such a level of sophistication that approaches of greater complexity and novelty are continually being investigated in attempts to produce packages more eye-catching or appealing than those of the competition. One such special effect is to provide packages with embossed designs on their exterior surfaces.
Embossing is a technique that produces raised or depressed sections on a surface in accordance with the shape and contours of the desired design. Known embossing techniques typically utilize a pair of dies having the design to be embossed found in them, one die generally being the negative of the other. When the pair of dies are brought together under pressure, with a piece of work material between them, the design is transferred to the work material by deforming the material in the region of the design away from the original plane. A drawback associated with this technique is that the embossing dies tend to be costly and generally cannot be altered. If each comprehensive being evaluated in the above-described process contained a different embossed design, a set of embossing dies corresponding to each design would be required to produce the sample packages. In addition, a comprehensive may go through several design iterations during the evaluation process with each iteration potentially requiring another pair of dies. Accordingly, due to the expense involved in die-making, the use of embossing dies to produce embossed designs on comprehensives is impractical.
In addition to the foregoing, embossed designs often include special optical characteristics to increase the visual impact of the package on potential purchasers. However, most known sample package making processes use standard cardboard as the basic work material. Therefore, if the final product package is to include any special physical or optical effects, such as metallic or holographic effects, the samples must either have these materials applied over the embossed design by hand, or the final appearance of the product must be partially left to the imagination.
Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an embossing apparatus and method for producing embossed designs amenable to the comprehensive production and evaluation process.
It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a material capable of being effectively embossed and having the optical and/or physical characteristics required on the finished, production package.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention.
The present invention meets these and other objects by providing a method and material for making embossed blanks from sheet-type work materials. The method comprises the steps of defining a design to be embossed and the section on the work material where the design is to be located, in machine readable embossing data. The work material is then presented to a processing mechanism having a resilient surface upon which the work material is located during an embossing operation. An embosser having an end defining an embossing surface is loaded into the processing mechanism, and the processing mechanism is operated to cause the embossing surface to engage the work material in the area where the design is to be embossed, thereby pressing the work material into the processing mechanism""s resilient surface. The processing mechanism is then operated to move the embosser over the area to be embossed in a rasterwise and/or vectorial motion in accordance with the aforementioned embossing data, thereby producing a pattern of deformations in the work material corresponding to the shape and contours of the embossed design.
The present invention also resides in providing a work material having a top layer of sheet material that contributes shape retaining deformability characteristics to the work material whereby the top layer of sheet material is strained, due to the force exerted by the embossing surface on the work material during the aforementioned embossing operation, to such an extent that the deformation is irreversible in the top layer of sheet material. As such, the pattern of deformations produced in the work material during the embossing operation are permanently set into the work material due to the shape retention characteristics of the top layer of sheet material. The top layer of sheet material also includes a first upper work surface and a second lower opposite surface. An intermediate layer of sheet material is located below the top layer of sheet material and has a third upper surface and a fourth lower surface. A first layer of adhesive material is interposed between and in communication with the second and third surfaces thereby bonding the top layer of sheet material to the intermediate layer of sheet material. A carrier layer of sheet material is also included and has a fifth upper surface and a sixth lower surface. A second layer of adhesive material is interposed between and in communication with the fourth and fifth surfaces thereby bonding the intermediate layer of sheet material to the carrier layer of sheet material.
The present invention further resides in the sheet-type work material as described above where any, all, or a combination of the top, intermediate, or carrier layers of sheet material contribute the previously described shape retaining deformability characteristics thereby aiding in holding the embossed design in the work material.
The present invention also provides embossed blanks, created using the processes and materials described above, which can subsequently be erected into sample packages or other articles.